Elvis Presley and bareback riding

In 1968, my mother and father decided to take us kids (there were only three at the time) to the rodeo. They chose a day when my father was off and when us two older kids could miss school. I was five at the time, and I remember three specific things about the rodeo: the horses and cows were much bigger than I could have imagined; the rides were fabulous even though we only got to ride a couple of them; and Elvis Presley sang and then gave everyone autographed photos. My parents definitely didn't choose the rodeo performance because of the singer. My father preferred old-time country stars like Charlie Pride, but he was "stuck" with Elvis because of scheduling. In the years since then, I've been back to the rodeo a couple of times and I had the opportunity to go again last night. However, one of the things that I hadn't remembered from my long ago 1968 trip was the "sport" of the rodeo. Although in the past ten or so years I've attended numerous barrel races to watch my favorite barrel racer (my niece Kolbi) and know how difficult it is, I had discounted some of the other sports such as roping, bareback riding, saddle bronc riding and bull riding. I decided that the bareback riding, in particular, was similar to surfing. One had to have his/her balance, had to hold on tight and was at the mercy of a beast of nature. The really good ones learned to second guess his horse's next move. Most of the time, though, that was impossible to do. I think this will be similar to the waves. Although I can watch and try to second-guess what will happen next, I know that will be hard for me, not only because I'm a novice, but also because second guessing nature is next to impossible. Like the bareback rider, I'll probably just have to learn how to hold on tight.

"...I bet that she could teach the palms along the beach
To sway when breezes blow
And birds up in the sky could learn to fly..."
from "Rock-A-Hula Baby"
Elvis Presley